HOUSTON –– The Board of Directors of the National Space Biomedical Research Institute (NSBRI) has added Dr. Doon L. Gibbs, the deputy director for science and technology at Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, N.Y.
"Dr. Gibbs is a leader at one of the world’s premier research facilities," said Dr. Bobby R. Alford, NSBRI Board of Directors chairman. "As a scientist, he has made significant contributions to the theoretical and experimental development of resonant magnetic X-ray scattering techniques. His presence on the NSBRI Board of Directors will be beneficial to NSBRI and the nation’s human spaceflight program."
In 1983, Gibbs began his 29-year career at Brookhaven, a multi-disciplinary research institution overseen and funded by the U.S. Department of Energy. Starting as an assistant physicist, his scientific research efforts and strong leadership skills helped him advance through the organization. Gibbs served as a physicist, senior physicist and group leader before being named in 1995 as director of the Advanced Photon Source’s Complex Materials Consortium, which included Brookhaven and other leading national research organizations. He also served as the deputy chair of Brookhaven’s physics department and head of the condensed matter physics group. Prior to being named deputy director, Gibbs served as Brookhaven’s associate laboratory director for basic energy sciences.
Throughout his career, Gibbs has been recognized for his research efforts. In 2003, he received the Advanced Photon Source Arthur H. Compton Award "for pioneering theoretical and experimental work in resonant magnetic X-ray scattering, which has led to many important applications in condensed matter physics. Gibbs is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Physical Society. He is a member of the Phi Beta Kappa honor society, the Sigma Xi research society and the New York Academy of Sciences. He also served as chair of a Gordon Research Conference on X-ray physics and was named an "Influential Person" by the Long Island Business News.
The Salt Lake City native graduated magna cum laude from the University of Utah with bachelor’s degrees in mathematics and physics. Gibbs received his master’s and doctorate degrees in physics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
NSBRI is a NASA-funded consortium of institutions studying the health risks related to long-duration spaceflight and developing countermeasures to mitigate the risks. The Institute’s science, technology and education projects take place at more than 60 institutions across the United States. Brookhaven is a member of the NSBRI consortium.
NSBRI projects address space health concerns, which include bone and muscle loss, cardiovascular alterations, radiation exposure, neurobehavioral and psychosocial factors, remote medical care, and habitability and performance issues. Research findings also impact the understanding and treatment of similar medical conditions experienced on Earth.
–30–
Brad Thomas
NSBRI
713-798-7595
rbthomas@bcm.edu